Chariot Cup

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The Corning Museum of Glass is temporarily closed as we do our part to limit the spread of COVID-19. All previously scheduled classes, events, and programs are cancelled until further notice.

What is AAT?

The Art & Architecture Thesaurus (AAT) (r) is a structured vocabulary for generic concepts related to art and architecture. It was developed by The Getty Research Institute to help research institutions become consistent in the terminology they use.Learn More

Semi-transparent brown glass, very bubbly; mold-blown, three- part mold; rim ground. Straight-sided top; rim sprung, finished by grinding; vertical side, curving in towards bottom; base has low ring and slight concavity at center. Mold-blown decoration: on body, three registers; top, narrow, with inscription in very low relief, "OLYMPEVA FOENIXVA EUTYCHEVA M[ ]"; middle, wider, with horizontal rib above and below, four quadrigae, one below each name in inscription, separated by two triple pillars on plinths, one single pillar and one crenellated tower; bottom, narrow, frieze of rather irregular contiguous lozenges; on base, two concentric ribs between concavity and ring.

Exhibitions (1)

At the end of the first century B.C., glassmakers working in the environs of Jerusalem made a revolutionary breakthrough in the way glass was made. They discovered that glass could be inflated at the end of a hollow tube. This technical achievement—glassblowing—made the production of glass vessels much quicker and easier, and allowed glassmakers to develop new shapes and decorative techniques.
One technique, inflating glass in molds carved with decorative and figural designs, was used to create multiple examples of a variety of vessel shapes with high-relief patterns. The molds used to shape this ancient glass were complex in their design, and the mold-blown glass vessels of ancient Rome tell a wealth of stories about the ancient world, from gladiators to perfume vessels, from portraits of a Roman empress to oil containers marked with the image of Mercury, Roman god of trade.
Among the earliest workshops to design and create mold-blown glass was one in which a man named Ennion worked. Ennion was the first glassmaker to sign his glass objects by incorporating his name into the inscriptions that formed part of the mold’s design, and thus he stands among a small group of glass workers whose names have come down to us from antiquity.
On view through January, 4, 2016, Ennion and His Legacy, is composed of mold-blown master works by Ennion and other Roman glassmakers. The works are drawn from the Corning Museum’s collection of Roman glass, one of the finest in the world.
Within the larger exhibit is a smaller exhibit organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ennion: Master of Roman Glass, which focuses specifically on works made by Ennion. Composed of loans from a number of international institutions and private collections this exhibit within an exhibit brings together many of the known examples of Ennion’s wares and will be on view through October 19, 2015.